Well your Climate plays into why a place is desired place for a player to live in or play. All that plays into why players wouldn't want to play and or live in Toronto as a free agent. Or even just as a big time professional athlete.
Having lived in Toronto for those few years, Toronto was pretty boring for a city of it's size. Very conservative city, just didn't have anything special about it. And if you like anything besides Hockey then good luck, lol. Hockey on your T.V. stations 24/7. Trying to find a NCAA football or basketball games, NBA games, not happening unless you pay extra for something you can get in the U.S. with a normal cable or satellite package. No ESPN or nothing and that crap was annoying.
Give me Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, Vegas, New York, L.A, San Diego, Phoenix, D.C, over Toronto any day. Even cities that are perceived to be bad as far as crime are still nice cities that Athletes like to live in. Detroit, Baltimore are still major cities in the U.S. Detroit has some nice places in the suburbs of it, rich luxurious areas.